RATBOY – SCUM (Album) Review

Wetherspoons represent the best and worst of the British public. They harbor fugitives of productivity and celebrate a nation’s obsession with binge drinking.

Being exposed full time to such an environment will create a lasting impression on the scum and villainy that inhabit these isles.

Jordan Cardy, AKA RATBOY, was fired from his Wetherspoons occupation and consequently used it as inspiration for his mixtapes.

Aged 21 and running with the momentum of his newly released debut album SCUM, RATBOY’S past antics in the British chain of cheap drinks and thrills are now shadowed by his shift in careers.

Blending hip-hop and indie cohesively, Ratboy is comparable to artists like Jamie T and The Beastie Boys.

His lyrics focus on both his own personal affairs and the greater scale of world issues. Songs like SIGN ON relate to his millennial generation inheriting a country with rising house prices and unemployment figures.

It’s hard enough to raise the dollar to not live off mum and survive by oneself, let alone have a disposable income. One of the few options is to get on the doll.

The chorus chants “Won’t be long until I sign on, is it right or is it wrong?”. A question many people his age are asking themselves. A feeling of doubt and uncertainty I can personally affiliate with.

Cardy is clearly not happy with the current state of affairs in English politics and his perspective is very much shared throughout the album.

A call to arms is issued in REVOLUTION. The track talks about the results of waking up and realizing the truth of living in a post Brexit, Tory governed Britain.

However, he also addresses the fact that many of his peers of a similar age feel this anger and rage, but that they “don’t know why?”.

This reveals how the youth of today as a whole have been ignorant to the ins and outs of politics, but they do feel and are aware of the negative repercussion.

Although, a shift towards more engagement from 18-25-year-olds has been seen thanks to recent events resulted by the snap election.

Sound wise RATBOY calls upon many genres as inspiration and is widely known to experiment with a vast amount of styles and instrumentation.

Dub bass lines, hip-hop backbeats, indie riffs and electronic programming are in bountiful amounts throughout the album and lend themselves to create a fresh dynamic sound.

The tempo of the album stays very samey. All though there are peaks and dips musically, it would have been more immersive as a concept and full experience if the speed of the tracks varied more.

What really resonated with me was the comedic value added from the radio DJ excerpts narrating the album, especially BIG FUCKA BURGERS INTERLUDE.

The interlude demonstrates the juxtaposition in today’s advertising and how we are overexposed to two sides of an opinion spectrum, which both aim for monetary gain.

With a lot more to say and a lot more to produce, SCUM is just the tip of the tail for RATBOY as he further develops as an artist.